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A Pond Beneath the

Moon

a book of poems
by sally shields

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The editors of The International Library of Poetry are

thrilled to inform you that the poem, “A Pond Beneath
the Moon” by Sally Shields, was honored with the
prestigious Editor’s Choice Award because of her
artistic accomplishments and unique perspective ––
characteristics found in the most noteworthy poetic
works.
Howard Ely
Managing Editor of Poetry.com

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Foreword __________________________________

It was the spring of 1997; I was 28 years old and going

through a divorce. It seemed like relationship after
failed relationship, and it was taking its toll. I realized
that I could no longer look outside of myself to find
happiness, so I made a conscious decision not to get
romantically entangled again, until I had gotten a hold
on some of the deeper issues that I was struggling with.
Subsequently, within the space of a two-year period, all
four of my grandparents passed away. For the first time
in my young life I felt the need to answer the existential
question, “What happens after we die?” Here began
my personal quest for answers.

When the student is ready, the teachers appear! I

delved headfirst into the writings of Deepak Chopra,
Marrianne Williamson, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Brian Weiss,
Neale Donald Walsh, Sanya Roman, Illanya Vanzant,
M. Scott Peck, Ruth Montgomery, Shakti Gowain, Edgar
Cayce, Louise Hay, Thich Nhat Hanh, Paramahansa
Yogananda, Sylvia Brown, James Van Praagh, John
Edward, Rosemary Altea, Dannion Brinkley, Joel Martin
and Patricia Romanoski, Suzanne Northrop, Bettie
Eadie, Raymond Moody, and many others.

Voraciously devouring everything I could get my hands

on pertaining to matters such as dream interpretation,
the near-death experience, past-life regressions, life
after death, communication with the beyond,
Quantum Physics and even alien visitation, I became
obsessed, for lack of a better term, with being in
contact with those who have passed over. Finding a
method to communicate with those on the Other Side
became my dream and my heart’s desire.

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So, I started meditating, while simultaneously

embarking on a 45-day nutritional fast to cleanse
myself physically as well as spiritually. And out of this
daily ritual, a form of self-discovery began to emerge.
What materialized was a series of poems that felt like
they were being written by someone outside of myself. I
let the thoughts and feelings flow for as long and as
hard as they wanted to come, and diligently, dutifully,
studiously, I took down each offering word for word, as
a stenographer immersed in dictation.

So, this compilation of poems came out of a very

intense period of my life that was painful yet
necessary. It was a time of solitude, a walk with God,
so to speak. I developed a special place for my inner
being to reside, a quiet space deep inside myself that I
could always go to in case I was feeling sad or alone. I
had transcended my greatest fears – loneliness and
death – through my internal journey of spiritual healing.
At the end of a little over two years I was gloriously
rewarded with a loving relationship here on earth.

The man who is now my husband, I consider to be my

spiritual soul mate. I recalled something a therapist
once said to me: you can judge the quality of your
progress (getting healthy emotionally) by the quality of
your relationships. I knew that I had truly grown through
my spiritual work. I had finally met the right life-partner
for myself and we were married within a year.
Interestingly enough, (though not surprisingly) the
poetry stopped flowing, save for one final verse that
emerged about a year and a half into my new
marriage!

We now have two beautiful children and my focus has

shifted more to the everyday needs of my

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family, although I am still very interested in otherworldly

things. I look back on that time of my life as a very
important transition, without which I might still be
floating in the limbo of the confused and unfulfilled.

This compilation of material encapsulates a brief but

concentrated journey, from the initial questioning to
the answers received, and ultimately to a sense of
fulfillment, joy and relaxation. I still long for communion
with those in the hereafter, but my sense of urgency
has waned as I walk through life with my loved ones
here on earth, secure in the knowledge that one day
we will all be re-united. I now share my journey of the
Soul with you in the form of “A Pond Beneath the
Moon.”

I hope you enjoy this small, but very intense snapshot of

my life.

With love,

Sally Shields

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PART ONE
A Pond Beneath the Moon

1. Musings to a Higher Power 10

2. On the Road 12
3. This Small Planet We Call Home 14
4. My Crystal Cave 15
5. I’m An Angel of God 16
6. Prayre on a Star 17
7. The Reigns of the Chariot 19
8. On Gossamer Wings 21
9. The River of Life 23
10. Path to Eternal Bliss 25
11. A Pond Beneath the Moon 27
12. Keep the Faith
13. Peace in Every Step 31
14. The Happiness Tree 33
15. At One With the Wind 35
16. Freedom’s Path 37
17. A Lifelong Lease 39
18. A Life of Inner Peace 41
19. Our Souls Divine 43
20. Through Heavens Gate 44
21. Gently Watch Your Garden Grow

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PART TWO
The Other Side

22. Toward the Light 49

23. Forever in a Dream 51
24. For All of Time 52
25. A Secret Code 54
26. Never Give Up 56
27. Eternal Warming Glow 58
28. Heaven’s Nest 59
29. The Other Side 61
30. A Life Of Peace and Love 63
31. In Separate Realms 65
32. A Wing Beyond A World 67
33. A String of Pearls 69
34. God’s Great Plan 71
35. Jewels of Wisdom 73
36. Over the Horizon 75
37. Through Another Door 78
38. Natures Call 80
39. The Heart and Soul Alliance 82
40. Language of the Soul 84

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PART THREE
In Cosmic Eternity

41. I Am 87
42. Relief 88
43. Is This Heaven? 89
44. I Remember 90
45. First Morning Awareness 91
46. Reunited 93
47. Once Again 96
48. In Cosmic Eternity 98
49. Solitude 100
50. Into the Light 102
51. The Secret Key 104
52. Home 106
53. Confusion 109
54. Because 111
55. One Last Time 112

About the Author 114

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PART ONE:
A Pond Beneath the
Moon

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Musings To a Higher Power ________________

W here, from where does it all begin?

Life isn’t a game to play and win
Sometimes it seems like a lonely soul
spiraling down a big black hole
Yet every time I see the sky I
I taste a bit of relief and high
The chemistry though, does not always allow
the convergence of what, where, why and
how
Inward I go to feel serene
at one with God, like in a dream
Completeness comes from within the heart
yet hard to reach that place to start
to heal and feel and grow and learn
and around each corner, twist and turn
an energy seems to make me feel
the churning of life’s butter wheel
Show me how, please, one does attain
a peace within amid the rain?
And why though does my heart ache so?
I know it’s so that I’m to grow
No one said it would be easy, nice or slow,
And each day something blocks the flow
A barricade of sorts...
A bouillabaisse of all life’s warts
A flow exists amid the rubble
I take cover in my mind’s small hovel
Meditation is key, you say.
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Okay, I surrender – show me the way!

I’m ready to begin
I’m not here to play and win
I just want a peace of mind
that has eluded me for some time
I’ve been running from my own escape
I guess I’ve been slow in getting in shape
to begin my journey with open eyes
and whats and wheres and hows and whys
I’m ready for an elevated level
to soften and appease my inner devil
Creative exhalation always makes me feel
a whole new hope for a better deal
Please keep allowing my juices to flow
so I can heal and give and grow
I’m ready to learn, accept my plea:
Help me God, to discover and see
a better way, a world serene –
a berth of lushness, light and green!
I know it cannot always be
a place of splendid majesty
But cannot I increase the odds
of happiness more of the time?
I will use my discipline
to make it good and real and fine
I’ll place myself in your strong hands
I will surrender to your plans.

June 19, 1997

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On the Road _______________________________

S
omehow, when sky is covered in shroud
the background noise blares way too
loud
Helplessness will overwhelm
and struggle takes over at the helm
But nothing controls the overload
‘til acceptance passes you on the road
An inner peace permeates the Soul
and ribbons of sky begin to unfold
A miracle, each blade of grass
and I see the wonder in me at last
Alone am I, it may appear
at times like this I’ll shed a tear
for all the pain I’ve caused myself
(as well a lapse in my own health)
But meditation soothes the fear
and fills it with consciousness – a seer:
the eyes of my heart, and as they open
my head learns reason, truth and hope and
no more the shell of childhood
but a woman who is conscious, loved and
understood.
Finally I’m on the path to fulfillment
never having known what true will meant
The mind, an untrained puppy on a leash,

sweet and eager, but oh so difficult to teach

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The sting of poison bites my lip

when temptation lures me to take a sip
Emotion at times caused lapses in judgment
thinking that ardor is what true love meant
But friendship, sincerity and thoughtfulness are
the true building blocks of love’s strong star
Passion has its place, don’t get me wrong,
but fades, and won’t last nearly as long
as true love in its purest form:
the love of God – eternal and warm.

June 9, 1997

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This Small Planet We Call Home ____________

O ut in nature at the beach

I come to learn, and not to teach
I feel a tear with every wave
and retreat into my crystal cave
A sanctuary to house my thoughts
and give me answers when I feel caught
in mortal confusion, a mere illusion
It reminds me of my divine fusion
I am a Goddess in embryo
growing so slowly, beginning to flow
I feel the seeds of divinity inside
I water them daily with nothing to hide
I’m beginning to shine with the eternal light
and the wings of my heart begin to take flight
At one with God at every turn
my channel is widening and open to learn
He is with me each moment I live
The law is in action – to receive and to give
It brings me in life all the things that I need:
a way to be healthy and happy, indeed!

June 13, 1997

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I’m An Angel of God ______________________

R
me
esidue, residue, how long must you
haunt me
Meditate I try but you still seem to taunt

Dreams of the past seem to fill every thought

I wake in a sweat be it cold or it hot
My feelings take form like a ship on the sea –
a vessel that houses a Soul that is me
But Body and Mind are not really the key
but rather the Spirit that is lofty and free
I sit and I think and I hurt and I cry
until I recall I have wings and can fly
I’m an angel of God, a goddess divine
to claim my true birthright and all that is mine
I’m here to serve God with actions so pure
to relinquish desire, is the key I am sure
I am but a channel to funnel my love
and end karmic cycles and join up above
our one true light – the Universal Force
our cosmic destiny, the Creator, of course!
Enlightenment washes our karma away
and helps us be happy each night and each
day
This is our calling, our journey supreme:
with effortless ease, to manifest our dream.

July 2, 1997

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Prayer on a Star ____________________________

H
ow do I feel, it is hard to explain
I wake up confused, and feeling the pain
I need to remind myself of the truth
It’s all in acceptance, intention – a sleuth
could tell me this fact, but forget do I
that I am not human, but Goddess on high
My Spirit is far removed from the masses
and protects me from each emotion that
passes
and meditate I try and to God I pray
to heal and assist me throughout each day
I ask Him to help keep my mind on myself,
my music, my dharma, take down from the
shelf
the notion that perhaps I will record
a compact disc of my own accord
Someday is now – it’s sooner than later
that manifesting dreams need not wait, or
life will pass, and disappointment takes over
Instead, seize the day, find a four-leaf clover!
Pure potentiality is indeed the Law
Anything is possible, as long as the raw
materials are there, and to all they are
It just takes a bit of prayer on a star
Eliminate the boundaries of fear and of doubt
and all that you want will pop right out

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The details are taken care of by Earth

Our job is just to “Be” after birth
To follow our joy, our purpose each day
to serve with love, in any which way
with as much happiness as divinely we can
even though we take shape in the form of
mere man
We each have a body and mind so that we
can do things for God, while our spirits run
free.
And as I’m performing all actions with love
I do it to serve the Almighty above
and not to gain for my own sense of need
but because I’m supposed to, just like a seed
who’s duty is simply to grow and to be,
to blossom, and manifest itself, just like me.

July 8, 1997

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The Reigns of the Chariot ___________________

E
ver so slightly I feel but a change
churning inside me, a little bit strange
It feels like a shifting, the floor of the sea
moving so gently and gradually
An inner strength starting to seep through my
veins Self-referral begins to take on the reigns
of the chariot which has often run wild
leaving me scared like a lost little child
I don’t feel the need to gain other’s approval
but look to my Self, and with judgment I’m
frugal
An inner quietness pervades through my soul
and of each present moment I try to take
hold
Happy am I to be on my own
and when I am lonely call friends on the
phone
I’m thinking a lot about my career
and slowly I realize there’s no need to fear
No need to compare, to compete or to win
but only to think how to start, to begin
to put all the pieces of the puzzle together
to make my dreams manifest, no matter the
weather
The very first law of spiritual success
is pure potentiality, boundless at best
Through my silence each morning I find

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many a treasure buried deep in my mind

Anything’s possible once you arrive
at those gems of desire that keep us alive
Letting go of attachment to results is the key
to a life full of happiness, fulfilling and free.

July 8, 1997

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On Gossamer Wings ________________________

A
little bit anxious, tonight what I feel
Is anything true, is anything real?
If life’s an illusion, a trick of the mind
then what are we doing here, all humankind?
Are we but awaiting transition to come
while thinking that now is not all, only some
of what truly lies beyond our existence?
Why do we struggle, why fight resistance?
Acceptance is key, we must find a way
to responsibly lead our lives every day
and dwell in defenselessness, not waste our
time
straining our engines on an uphill climb
Energy that has been previously wasted
will suddenly emerge, a sensation we’ve
tasted
on those rare occasions when we are in tune
with all cosmic forces, and like a bassoon
in an orchestra pit, playing a part
fulfilling a role, it knows where to start
and to end and to pause to create silent
spaces –
like entering the gap, a technique that erases
the karma of ancient Souls that were we
but now can stop searching and rest
peacefully
We must find accessible ways to connect

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with that all-knowing force, and may I inject

that once we’ve discovered that we are but
one
with God up above, then we’ll really have fun
Our life is to live with a purpose in mind –
to serve with joy, and all that we find
will bring us a little bit closer to Him
and on gossamer wings shall we fly on a whim
Never abandon the things that we dream
even if at times they may seem extreme
For everything manifests with effortless ease
It’s our birthright divine, and God it does
please
He wants us to have all the stuff that we need:
health, wealth and happiness, and love, yes
indeed!

July 9, 1997

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The River of Life ___________________________

T
he feelings slow so do they fade
but little by little like life’s long parade
the layers of the onion do peel
and oh so slowly, you start to reveal
the deep inner core of what you feel
like eating a delicious meal
You start out hungry, fork in hand
and as you eat, every gland
fills with satisfaction and glee
and pretty soon, eventually
you’re full and need not any more
but plenty has your form in store
You have a reservoir of knowledge
an inner strength, an emotional college
You know just how to stand alone –
inner resources are now your bones
Self-referral becomes the measure
of all your joy and all your pleasure
Comparing yourself is no longer in play –
it only confuses the mind, I’d say
At times it’s essential to stay far away
from the things that caused pain in your life
everyday
A recovery period is often needed
to heal from a wound and one deeply seated
is especially delicate and one must progress

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with a heart full of caution and pride and

finesse
Take highest care of yourself at these times
Treat yourself well and soon you will find
that what will emerge is a beautiful you
who knows what to say and feel and to do
All of us struggle with an occasional bought
of uncertainty, depression, and reams of self-
doubt
But this too shall pass on the River of Life
and gone shall be anger, confusion and strife
Live everyday with a song in your heart
and all will heal quickly, and you’ll become
smart
Keep inner peace at the core of your soul –
for otherwise life seems to take its toll
But possible is ageless body and mind
if we see a transition in all that we find
and not a finality in every end
Renewal and Death both become our close
friend.

July 9, 1997

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Path to Eternal Bliss ______________________

G rounded, grounded, one must stay

grounded –
otherwise remain confounded
The wisdom of uncertainty
is our path to freedom, you will see
Just remain in self-referral
Don’t get sidetracked, for like a mural
our lives are but a mere reflection
of all our relationships, including rejection
Calmness of mind do I receive
when meditate on God do I
Relief and present moment awareness
fills my every thought on high
Concentrate on the shakra
of the heart then of the brow
Think of Brahman, Atman, Krishna
nothing more need you know how
Once we realize we are One –
but a fixation of the field
of quantum mechanics separated are none,
before God we should all remain kneeled
At the moment of our physical death
all we must remember to do
is focus on our every breath
and think of Him and our spirits renew
We’ll join him up above we will
as long as we remember this:

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To meditate on OM is still
the only path to eternal bliss
Never ending, and immortal
are our Souls that seek their kiss
Knowing the Self and God as one
leads us to true happiness.

July 14, 1997

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A Pond Beneath the Moon _______________

S
omewhere on this earth so round
there is a place that holds no sound
A sanctuary dark and small
a breathless hush that houses all
A place that one can go in peace
when what is needed is release
A silent hole of unbridled calm
like a choir deep in psalm
So undisturbed, untainted still
not unlike the whippoorwill
that coos and sings it’s song each morn
and hums its tune so oh forlorn
And like a pond beneath the moon
or like the sand amid a dune
All is well and soft and right
and Mother Earth with all her might
cannot disrupt this special place
where everything is clear and safe
What takes us to this holy space?
Meditation is the train,
the bus, the trolley, and the plane
This place that anyone can find
is simply right inside the mind.
October 11, 1997

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Keep The Faith _____________________________

T
rembling deep inside the mind
afraid to look for fear we’ll find
an emptiness, a barren place
that we’d do anything not to face
What is really there? You ask,
Demons from a bitter past?
Memories best left alone
buried well amid sea-foam
Yesterday just causes pain
We stay in quicksand to remain
or the rest of time on Earth
challenging our own self-worth
To get unstuck and venture forth
plethora must replace the dearth
We’ll face the night with courage bare
and hail all fiends with no despair
Breathe in deeply, do not doubt
your sense of peace – if need be shout
to all the Heavens: I am here!
I will not shrink and die of fear!
We’ll save ourselves with knowledge strong
and keep the faith however long
it takes us to reach solid shore
and even then we’ll pray some more
Frustratiion, darkness, solitude
Maybe this is just the food
that Mother Earth is feeding me;

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the nourishment I need, and key

to getting past this old plateau,
to battle Self, both friend and foe
Perhaps it’s what I need to grow...
I fight with mirth and sword and shield
and step upon the battlefield
With new beliefs and inner strength
I must endure the trying length
A lifetime so, I must admit
I must not lose, I must not quit
There are but two emotions here:
one is Love, the other Fear
Concentrate on just the former
and a cold heart will grow warmer
Soon it turns a purplish blue
with unconditional love so true
It’s what we’re here to really learn
although our minds and hearts still burn
A valley deep becomes a ditch
and with knowledge just a glitch
Acceptance is another tool
for like a wise man, not a fool
one knows that one can’t control
another’s heart, another’s soul
To understand our Higher Self
is like acquiring more wealth
The more you know, the more you have
and less to fear and more to give
“How to help” is better still

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than“How can I get more?” to fill

the empty pit of hapless greed
there are so many mouths to feed
We have the faith to fill these holes
Yes, we can heal our needy souls...

October 17, 1997

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Peace in Every Step ________________________

M other Earth and Father Time

A combination so sublime
Their insights in harmonious sync
a balanced charm and with a wink
their love can bring us back to Self,
the present moment, precious wealth
For we must live with more than hope
The time is now to wash with soap
to cleanse our souls, to honor Earth
and give more meaning to our worth
Each moment is a precious stone,
a flower, bee, an ice-cream cone
We must learn to drink it in:
each passing cloud, each prayer and sin
We are honored to exist
We must protect our Home, enlist
collective minds of Heart and Soul
to lighten up the big black hole
that clouds our vision, blocks our smile
when Peace is hiding all the while
We must expose the simple truth
We must become aware… a sleuth
could search for clues all day and night
but what he finds may not be right
The answer is inside our hearts
Peace and joy are the true smarts
Compassion, understanding, love

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are a few things from above

that we can learn to utilize
to reach the mark and win the prize
But it’s the journey, not the goal
that gives rest to our troubled soul
The secret to erase our debt
is simply Peace, in every step.
October 22, 1997

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The Happiness Tree _________________________

W here am I going and why am I here?

I work and I pray yet I still shed a tear
I love and I try to be honest of heart
but sometimes I feel I’m just playing a part
in a larger theater, a cosmic drama –
the denouement stems from living our
dharma
I know that my only salvation is this:
unconditional love and acceptance are bliss.
I remind myself daily, I breathe and I smile
and my straying emotions become calm for a
while
I must try to love with detachment so I
do not stay united with Cupid on high.
Desire at times causes suffering and so
in order to learn and in order to grow
we must find a way to enjoy everyday
without expectation, or disappointment will
say,
“This is not what you want, you must seek
more!”
and you’ll never find happiness –
on this point I’m sure.
We must become mindful in all that we do –
to be grateful for each green tree, sun, sky of
blue
The secret to happiness is happiness itself

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and one who has learned this

has so much more wealth
than any millionaire on the stock market has
who lives for the Dow Jones, the Nikkei, the
“Naz”
If we were to meditate in silence each day
morning and evening we’d soon find a way
to cherish our Spirits, our God and our Souls
and soon find a way to fulfill all our goals
Boundaries become boundless and fears
become
numb
when we open the channel to all, even some
of what our true Spirit instructs us to do
like Shakti and Shiva, providing the glue
of energies female and male both alike:
one takes the train, and one rides a bike
Whatever the path, to get there we must
Simply have faith in faith, and trust in trust!
Letting go of the ego is part of the trick
to releasing the lock, and making it click
Mindful living, consistent prayer
will show us the way to nurture with care
the delicate seeds of the Happiness Tree
and to water the lettuce, the souls that are
we.
November 9, 1997

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At One With the Wind _____________________

M indfulness, mindfulness, daily I find

that if I deal with each minute in kind
a safety prevails, an inner discretion
and clarity of soul becomes norm, not
obsession
I try to become at one with the wind
to express myself clearly, I need not pretend
to be anything other than just who I am
to see and to feel and to do what I can
to make this one day, this second I’m in
not an ending, but merely a place to begin.
A singular comma, a pause in disguise
To be conscious of heart is congruent with
wise
Learning the art of listening will lead
to pleasure, fulfillment, like planting a seed
Confidence grows in your loved one’s soul
as a lump of coal slowly turning to gold
Pay close attention and quickly you’ll find
that you’ve captured the heart
and the ears and the mind
of those that you care for, those that you love
and promptly your wishes are heard from
above
As mutual spirits congeal into one
a rosebud will blossom and rays of the sun
will sprinkle the flowers and nurture the life

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of a beauty matched only by man and his

wife
A lifelong romance, and even beyond
eternity, touched by a white magic wand.
December 4, 1997

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Freedom’s Path ____________________________

S
omewhere in a Midwest state
I come to play and seal my fate
My essence is revealed at last –
the ghost of ancient me has past
The skin has shed, like an old snake
yet the inner core remains at stake
A year has past, so much has gone
Things that once I yearned and longed
for have receded in a blur
The future is a jumbling whir
Much of what had caused such pain
are tiny beads like drops of rain
A new horizon streaks the sky
like clouds of cotton drifting by
I look around, what do I see?
Pastures green and finally
I feel a heavy, heavy weight
slowly start to dissipate
As winter quickly passes by
I ponder life and how and why
things happen and what I conclude
is when I’m down or in a mood
I think and learn and grow and see
that what’s to come eventually
is a conscious, deepened me
and to exist in this plane’s key
to happiness in every way

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in every moment, every day

Love is really everywhere –
inside, outside, in your hair,
your eyes, your smile, heart and soul
in every freckle, mark and mole
Spirit, God and we are one
The key to life is having fun
I know in times when I am down
that it will pass and I’ll have found
another route to freedom’s path
and this time, for a lifetime, last.

February 8, 1998

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A Lifelong Lease ________________________

W e oftentimes feel quite alone

Like when things don’t go quite our
way
we have what’s called a rotten day
The sting of violation bites
and we fight back with all our might
To feel the victim takes us back
though forward motion’s what we lack
To gain a sense of inner peace
we must sign a life-long lease
to meditate, connect our soul
with God above, or pay the toll
To let go of desire is key
to conquer insecurity
or disappointment feel will we
What we need is self-referral
and single doubles up to plural
More inner strength and peace of mind
is what we’re really here to find
To concentrate on Dharma’s fun
and you and God shall soon be one
Keep the focus on the giving
and life seems so much more worth living
Love in many forms will come
and you’ll feel all, not only some
of the happiness you seek
and sun will outshine all the bleak

  43
 

and darkness, clouds and frozen rain

and slowly dissipate the pain
But sometimes pain will make us grow
like tulips poking through the snow
So welcome feelings – let them out
Pound a pillow, cry or shout
Soon you’ll feel a brand new you
minus all the black and blue
But it for sure will come again
The cycle really doesn’t end
This is life, and we are blessed
although a mess, we must confess!

February 9, 1998

  44
 

A Life Of Inner Peace ______________________

L etting go takes so much time

But time in what capacity?
To realize the need to detach
The answers are inside of me
Desire causes suffering
and to earthly things we cling
Discipline is what I lack
I lost it now I want it back
Doubt’s a mountain on the path
We must transverse, dispel its wrath
This inner discontent we feel
is Duca and is very real
When we quiet down the mind
in meditation soon we’ll find
that nothing in the outer world
is like a ship with sails unfurled
There is no globe outside ourselves
The inner life contains our elves,
and Angels, Spirits, Guides and Gods
Our Higher Selves can beat the odds
We stay stuck so deep in mud
because we’re so misunderstood
We don’t often hear our voice,
our one true guide, our only choice
We on Earth get so attached
to dreams and fantasies unmatched
by the pearl of each small moment

  45
 

If we’d smell the rose, we’d know fulfillment

Every second is a gift
To live in this way will uplift
our Higher Selves to tasting Peace
seasoned well with true release
from earthly suffering so we
can enjoy it finally
The blockages are real and large
Doubt weighs heavy on the barge
But each day if we’re on the path
we’ll cleanse our minds and give a bath
to our Spirit, Soul and Heart
never too late it is to start
Begin again each day we must
if we are to develop trust
True faith, deep in every way
is what will make us every day –
honest, true and free from fear
and help to make the mind all clear
We need to keep the slate of mind
clean and free from dirt and grime –
so we can venture forth with glee
on the path so fervently
Experiencing true release,
we’ll live a life of inner peace

March 30, 1998

  46
 

Our Souls Divine ________________________

A
king and all his wealth for naught
has he no peace of mind
All the treasures, wealth and peace
from inside he will find
Happiness, elusive so
if know not where to look
One thing is for sure: you cannot find it in a
book

Your higher self contains the answers

to your every wish
Don’t give a man a meal or two
but teach him how to fish
By keeping clean the slate of mind
proceed you will with ease
The inner core is free to breath, and easier to
please

By meditating soon the Spirit

finds its havens rest
It settles down with pleasant dreams
and curls up in its nest
Detachment to our earthly wishes
people, places things
Soon allows our Souls divine to spread their
golden wings
April 1, 1998

  47
 

Through Heaven’s Gate _____________________

S
ilently I ride the wave of life
An angel comes to sooth my inner strife
A peacefulness pervades my struggling
mind
while placing poignant memories behind

Yesterday I knew just how I felt

Beneath your golden wings I soft wings I softly
knelt
I saw your body and released my pain
then watched your casket lowering in the rain

Papa Joe, you are an Angel now

I saw you looking down at me somehow
Your presence dwells deep in my hidden
heart
Finally we are one and not apart

How gently did your peaceful spirit glide

above the canopy we sat inside
The eulogy was spoken in your name
I know that I will never be the same

I heard your answers to my questioning mind

You told me what I seek I soon would find
The confidence I feel because of you
cause colors to appear in skies of blue
  48
 

You’re more a part of me now than before

I seek another path, an open door
Through Heaven’s gate, the secrets of the soul
as diamonds blossom forth from lumps of coal

A rose is gently etched into the side

where beauty’s imperfections could not hide
Though once a squalid scratch we did
perceive
is now transformed by natures magic weave

April 1, 1998

  49
 

Gently Watch Your Garden Grow ________

A
prisoner of inner fear
cannot escape the playground walls
Hi Soul is trapped by its own seer
who’s careful not then trips and falls
An open heart, forgiving mind,
keeps the slate of sky called freedom
clear from clouds and rain in kind
and gives us sunshine when we need him
Omniscient is the precious Spirit,
few know how to tap its powers
If we just knew how not to fear it,
our garden soon would fill with flowers
Every second sprouts with bliss
when concentrating on the moment
Directly then are we in touch
with the almighty Omnipotent
Sometimes memory traps our minds
and hearts behind our prison walls
Live today as though just born
and heed advice when Spirit calls
Listen when you meditate
and ask for what you want in prayer
Soon you will receive the answers
when your heart becomes aware
of the subtleties we miss
when clouded by incessant chatter
All the things you thought were real
in fact are not and hardly matter

  50
 

The only world that’s true is simply

in the garden of your mind
Water daily what you plant there
and it seems that soon you’ll find
many flowers, herbs and fruits
and vegetables and roots as well
Growing slowly, healthily,
organic seeds will start to swell
Natural rain will grace the greens
and butterflies will drink the dew
Flowers will begin to poke their tendrils
towards the sky of blue
Keep the mind all free of clutter,
memories past best left behind
Tend your garden, pluck the weeds,
a Heaven’s gate is so sublime
Every day you must remember,
discipline will clear the path
Promptly you’ll see robins, warblers,
sparrows, bluebirds in the bath
The bubbling granite fountain is placed
squarely in the center so
that you can sit back gracefully, and
gently watch your garden grow.

April 1, 1998

  51
 

  52
 

PART 2:
The Other Side

  53
 

Toward the Light ___________________________

T
enderly, whilst I approach the muse
(careful so the mind to not confuse)
I absorb the tidbits one by one
while basking slowing, baking in the sun
The golden rays that gently bronze my skin
baste the tender soul I am within
The knowledge I receive of the hereafter
soothes the turbulence and helps me master
bit by bit the laws of nature so
I may gently help my soul to grow
Two hearts that love but only from afar
need extra care and prayer upon a star
The poignant truth of two on different planes
like a prisoner bound by ball and chains
No matter how he tries to move ahead,
he only ends up suffering instead
By letting go one may romanticize
and may eternally so fantasize
But better so the two that cannot see
Each other’s hearts complete and let it be
To love another soul then let it go
can only aid the Spirit more to grow
If they on Earth together cannot be
in the next dimension certainly
One will greet the other at the gate
Folly no, but absolute their fate
One will guide the other toward the light

  54
 

Their beings unencumbered so in flight

All differences whilst in the bodily form
melt away like snow beyond a storm
To romp in paradise forevermore
wing to wing, toward God, together soar

May 6, 1998

  55
 

Forever in a Dream _________________________

A
soul that’s healing needs a little time
to clear the space, prepare a place
sublime
To recognize another kindred heart
appreciate, anticipate the start
of fertile soil and tiny shooting green
buddlings poking faces up to wean
the nutrients, the chlorophyll of sun
drinking in life’s laughter and life’s fun
Only from a spirit full of love
can one accept the gifts from up above
Remove the blinders, shades and curtains tall
Take a stroll beyond the garden wall
Allow yourself to feel the beauty there
Accept the bliss, the sunlight in your hair
These blessings we deserve are so complete
when upon a kindred soul we meet
Let love in and do not block the gift
for through this love our souls will soon uplift
Remove unfounded fear and soon you’ll see
that in a splendid palace you will be
The world within will nurture every wish
like eating from a never-empty dish
A soul complete, a feeling so supreme
At one with God, forever in a dream.

May 6, 1998

  56
 

For All Of Time ____________________________

W
rebirth
hat lies beyond our mortal stay on
earth?
Perhaps what one might call a new

We join our loved ones past when we arrive

through the tunnel on the Other Side
At first confused, we don’t know where we
are
We see our bodies, viewing from afar
But angels soon are by our side to sooth
our hedging hearts and urging us to move
closer to the light and soon we glide
toward overwhelming peacefulness inside
In front of God, the light, in awe we stand
as angels gently take us by the hand
We watch a movie of our life on earth
We’re told to then evaluate our worth
If our mission is not yet complete
the choice is ours, the goals we did not meet
are waiting yet, for we can still go back
A crucial moment, haste we must not lack
A gentle urging by our inner elf
can influence our hesitating self
The love we feel from passing through is whole
like true completion of a lofty goal
The pull to stay is stronger than our reason
But if it’s not our time it’s not our season

  57
 

Return we must to prison of the flesh

and once again our soul and body mesh
But we awaken with a knowledge strong
of Heaven’s love, a pure angelic song
A mission here we are to carry out
Our aim: to find out what it’s all about
We may remember little of our time
on Heaven’s plain, but mountains we will
climb
For knowledge that our life continues on
after earth to Heaven and beyond
gives courage true and hearty peace of mind
for when we get there, loved ones we will find
and with them we will be for all of time.

May 6, 1998

  58
 

A Secret Code ______________________________

A
modicum of time we will allow
for those who question not the here and
now
Those conversing with discarnate souls,
were labeled witches, goblins, warlocks,
ghouls
The mediums who conjured up the dead
were ridiculed, called crazy in the head
At one time if of other worlds one spake
like Joan of Arc, was murdered on the stake
Though body gone, her heart it would not
burn
Then her executioners in turn
losing both their mind and breath they faint
when realizing they’d slaughtered but a saint
Houdini, a debunker in his time
obsessed with contact from the Other Side
spent his days discrediting the fake
while desperate contact trying did he make
Although his mother from her never heard
he nonetheless left with his wife a word
A secret code he’d send back from the grave
to prove to all indeed his soul was saved
A few years later after he had passed
a medium received his word at last
He claimed a phrase Houdini’s mother sent
and Rosabella knew just what it meant

  59
 

She did confirm the secret code was true

sent by her husband much more than a clue
As years did pass, for reasons quite inane
Rosabella did refute her claim
We’ll only know the truth when we arrive
met by our loved ones on the Other Side

May 8, 1998

  60
 

Eternal Warming Glow _____________________

A
pearl of wisdom seeping through a
dream
things are often not what they do seem
One must discern the messages we see
with keen interpretation as to be
sure of each intention, vision clear
Our angels to us in our dreams appear
The contact crave we from the Spirit World
through ten dimensions messages are hurled
Our frequency with they if not in tune
may so our signals only reach the moon
When meditating through the seeing eye
between the brow attention we must try
to focus there and other worldly sight
(we yearn to view and try with all our might)
expands the sphere of light around our soul
encompassing the universe in whole
Eventually to love all is our goal
Our hearts will fill with peace and we will know
the heat of God’s eternal warming glow

May 8, 1998

  61
 

Never Give Up _____________________________

T
wo frogs one day were on a little stroll
and accidentally fell into a hole
Into somehow they jumped a pail of milk
coating thickly each their skins of silk
Try as though they might, could not escape
the slippery walls around the cloudy lake
The larger of the two was losing strength –
could not endure the painful, trying length
Although a few more hours he did swim
eventually the milk devoured him
The little frog was stronger of the mind
As long as there was life then he would find
a way to keep on swimming 'til the end –
his life to the last breath he would defend
Hours past, exhausted to the core
he felt he could not go on anymore
Thinking that again he’d never jump
beneath his little legs he felt a lump
By his determined swimming he had learned
a little mound of butter he had churned!
He then hopped quickly from the little pail
escaping certain death by milky jail
The moral: Nothing better you will find
then never giving up your strength of mind
Always try just one more time and see
that true determination sets you free
May 9, 1998

  62
 

Heaven’s Nest _____________________________

T
raveling amid the astral planes
I contemplate what time on earth remains
A mission strong that we must all
complete
fulfilled by love divine we can’t deplete
Once before when in our Spirit form
we all agree on rules before we’re born
Forgetfulness, a veil that intercedes
with understanding of our spiritual needs
With this veil, our growth is unencumbered
Complacency by strength is soon
outnumbered
To grow in love is earthly's foremost deed –
a way we humans all can plant a seed
that sprouts into a blossom-covered tree –
a beauty that exists to set us free
Implanted in our cells a knowledge strong
enabling us to sing our Spirits’ song
At times a message we may so receive
confirming loved ones live after they leave
furthering our yearning to believe...
Communicating to us in a dream
cryptic though so often does it seem
Later on decipher we the code
when energy inside us does explode
A strange event that taps into our heart
reminding us in detail of the part

  63
 

that we have filtered through our earthly mind

searching through confusion to so find
answers to the questions of the Soul
where planetary life can take its toll
But we must all indeed complete our task
before we can remove our human mask
and once again return to Heaven’s nest:
the light at last that puts our souls at rest

May 10, 1998

  64
 

The Other Side _____________________________

A
soul is yet a soul upon this earth
connecting with our chosen ones at
birth
We select a life among our friends
while realizing that existence never ends
Our spirits chose a body in to dwell
to best complete a mission here as well
As Spirit grows, progress toward the divine
and once again return to the sublime
Many levels on the Other Side
to graduate, providing we abide
by Nature’s laws, becoming one with light
and loving God with all our spiritual might
If we are far evolved we may return
for another life on earth to learn
or teach in fact, if that is God’s true will
(as spirits we have many needs to fill)
A guardian angel we can choose to be
aiding earthly souls so peacefully
to the Other Side when they arrive
when in earthly form no more alive
We greet them in the dark and lead them
through
the tunnel long towards sun and skies of blue
While on the Other Side we often try
to contact those we love with no reply
Often so, frustration takes its toll
conveying we’re alive is but the goal
  65
 

Although in truth it’s like a mirrored glass –

we see them but they not us alas
We must wait until it is their time
Pleasure so at last we will deride
when loved ones join us on the Other Side

May 11, 1998

  66
 

A Life of Peace and Love ___________________

W aking up I praise our God for sun

asking that through me thy will be
done
An instrument of deed to further please
as I softly worship on my knees
for all my loved ones past so they do hear
my heart is with them with each passing year
Each day in fact, their spirits touch my heart
A major role in life they play a part
Although not seen or heard they’re always felt
and to their souls in prayer I’ve gently knelt
and guidance on this earth I do receive
appearing through my dreams I do believe
The only telephone that does exist
between the two dimensions some insist
a medium who operates the line
and there’s a wait of two years’ earthly time!
If patience none and urgently we need
communication lest our hearts will bleed
there is another way to intercede
Prayer and meditation are the way –
a cable that’s accessible each day
There is no waiting list or fee to pay
Simply contact those we love through God
like seeking gold by divining rod
Contact will most certainly be made
although a close attention must be paid
  67
 

Sensitivity we need as we have learned

for discarnate spirits so discerned
to let us know that they are still alive
and there to welcome us and help us thrive
What comfort from this knowledge we deride!
All the love and peace we have inside
will help us live a life of peace and love
until we join our loved ones up above
A universe just parallel to earth –
the Other Side: the home of our rebirth
May 12, 1998

  68
 

In Separate Realms ________________________

A
t times our souls will feel a tug
Perhaps a loved one sends a hug
An unexplained and gentle push
to slow us down if in a rush
When lax a bit on Spirit work
Responsibility we shirk
But something tells us what to do
although from whence we have no clue
We feel an emptiness profound
and lack of energy around
when slacking off on Soul work so
our spirit then knows where to go
We each a mission to complete
A task, a duty or a feat
Barometer internal we
have so our inner eye can see
dimensions that we can’t discern
yet desperately we want to learn
a system to communicate
but for us humans not our fate
It seems to be, a veil is placed
and Spirit memory erased,
if we are to develop true
God gives us hardly but a clue
Each time a soul re-enters earth
begin again he must at birth
Progress in the spiritual realm
is like a captain at the helm

  69
 

Uncharted lands and space abound

exploring fearlessly around
Forgiveness, love and peace are three
of the qualities that we
are meant to master here on earth
before we can enjoy rebirth
The greatest lesson from above:
the art of unconditional love
This is our collective goal
of humans and the Spirits’ soul
Love unites us so that we
can be as one eternally
One day earth and Heaven will
exist as one although until
we merge into a common plain
we will in separate realms remain.

May 12, 1998

  70
 

A Wing Beyond A World __________________

A
wing beyond a world in which we
dream
confirming things are seldom as they
seem
and helps us to accept a bitter truth
that love is often wasted on the youth
Desire strong and passion are illusive
from life we have compiled proof conclusive
To do the work of Soul and Spirit fills
creative space possession often kills
Service to our higher selves is key
to setting minds and hearts for soaring free
Trapped we can become with such desire
for human passion likened to a fire
The heat is overwhelming, flames are bright
removing slowly both our breath and sight
Soon we are encased in smoke and flame,
our earthly body never is the same
Somehow it is part of God’s great plan –
His way for the Soul to grow in man
Our feet eventually do touch the ground
and through our pain and knowledge we
have found
a balanced diet of the mind and heart
preparing us to make another start
in the next dimension by the light
where we can love with all our spiritual might
But not an earthly jealous love, oh no –

  71
 

another kind that sets our souls aglow

For once again our heart and mind at peace
the Other Side will offer true release
to join with God our souls immortal yearn
and to our true selves finally we’ll return.

May 13, 1998

  72
 

A String of Pearls _________________________

S
omehow direct contact has been made
For a loved one to God I have prayed
I asked for merely any little sign
to let me know that Sal was really fine
I lay down for a common little rest
I said my prayers and here’s what happened
next:
I started dreaming I was on a trip
moving through a tunnel at a clip
At the end we came upon a gate
but it was locked so stuck it seemed our fate
A German youth recounted us a trick:
a string of pearls would somehow make it
click
A youthful bride then offered hers to try
How easily it worked we don’t know why
A backyard lawn was there for us to rest
A few chaise lounges and some quilts at best
The bride and I began a little chat
I asked her where she thought my age was at
She said fourteen or so and in her eyes
when showing her my license mere surprise
(‘67 was the year of birth
of commonality for what it’s worth)
I tilt my head then couldn’t help but stare
at my friend Sal beside me lying there
I wasn’t so surprised (although he’d died)
and quickly went to join him by his side

  73
 

He look relaxed and peaceful I’d have said

as I gently stroked his tender head
He told me he had passed, I said I knew
“So many things I want to ask of you!”
The questions were about the afterlife
and that I’d sent a basket to his wife
and does he know that pray for him do I
and what’s it like there on the Other Side?
At this point I woke up from the dream
without a recollection it did seem
‘til something jarring told me then to think:
“Remember” with a knowing little wink
I suddenly, acknowledging the dream
felt a surge of energy extreme
I had asked him for a little sign
and here it was, not cryptic but sublime
Another symbol by to know him as –
the reference to “A String Of Pearls” in jazz!
This was quite a tricky little clue
but sharp enough to get it I, he knew
For the contact, thank you God and Sal
My prayers continue for my heaven’s pal

May 14, 1998

  74
 

God’s Great Plan __________________________

A
surge of peace at once I feel
The past is gone – the present real
When bonded with unbalanced souls
the heart is pierced and pain unfolds
Careful in your choice of friends
for they’ll be with you ‘till the end
and further still beyond the globe
of human life, and this I probe:
The way in which we chose to live
(including to receive and give)
here on earth affects our life
whether we have peace or strife
in the coming afterlife
The secret to the here and now
lies in the what where why and how
We treat each day our fellow man
and we must do the best we can
to perform these random acts
of kindness: this is God’s great plan!
Never to abandon this –
the dream of peace, eternal bliss
Every moment, mindful be
Consciousness, the glasses we
as Spirits need on earth to see
Delving deep into our souls
a life of wonder soon unfolds
The brilliantness, a silver star,
the glimmer of a moon afar

  75
 

An apple blossom drenched with dew,

a pond a-shimmer, are a few
of the things that give our Soul
incentive to complete this goal
Always focus on this dream
like mending broken hearts, a seam,
or shattered glass, we must repair
this discontent we call despair
A light from Heaven waits above
patiently with all its love
Ready to embrace us all
The yearning of a mating call
can be compared to Heavens plea:
“The love of God will set you free!”

May 14, 1998

  76
 

Jewels of Wisdom _____________________

T
hrough a cloudy haze there shines a rose
Its clarity from Heaven only knows
One moment there, the next a puff of
smoke
Likened to, perhaps, a little joke
A foggy smog to sweep it all away
like children from a spot to spot do play
A dream, our guidance from the Other Side –
careful we must try so to abide
by its message, shroud in mystery
decipher then the meaning so must we
Concentrate the moment you awake
or slither off too quickly as the snake
And gone the jewels of wisdom of the night
never gleaning clarity of sight
Evermore it’s gone but in a wisp
drifting by through morning’s gauzy mist
Frustration settles in when veils are placed
between us and our memory erased
A likened feeling mind and heart do glean
when garbled voice receive on the machine
Was it important? Did I miss a gig?
(Subsequently sense of loss is big)
But sometimes to forget is God’s intention –
subconsciously removed from this dimension
Whatever that we need to know we learn
from inner knowledge or we’ll soon discern
our infallibilities as man

  77
 

and merely but a small part of the plan

for our Spirits here on earth to grow
but how and why, they don’t want us to know
Trust the process, don’t give up the dream
as cryptic as the images do seem
The meanings are embedded in our mind
like searching for a clue that soon we’ll find
And guidance when we need it from above
Intention clear: perform each day with love
Then the Soul will blossom like a flower
infusing human beings with a power
Heaven’s fuel, the oil well above
is simply put, the power of God’s love.

May 15, 1998

  78
 

Over the Horizon _________________________

B
rilliant beads of golden diamonds
glisten in the sky
A thousand tiny opal crystals
shining in my eye
A tabernacle gospel choir
ringing in my ear
A symphony of violins and
cellos oh so clear
A pillar of a brilliant light
engulfs my every cell
while knowledge courses through my veins
instantly as well
Shafts of rainbow liquid from
the spectrum every hue
fill the columns to the top,
pale pink to mountain blue
Over the horizon
Caribbean sunsets melt
Every blissful loving
and forgiving feeling felt
A garden plumb with long-stem roses,
deep magenta red
A tiny barbershop quartet
chorales from every head
The petals soft as lamb-skin wool,
melting to the touch
From each a velvet whispering voice:
“I love you very much”

  79
 

A river of the purest sparkling

water soothes my skin
Bathing by the glassy pools
I gently drink it in
A silver lake of energy
injects me with vibration
My gauzy outer shell emits
a joy, a true elation
Coral gables line the grassy
knolls of Heaven’s college
Marble pillars brace the sides:
The Library of Knowledge
is what its called by beings here,
one simply drinks it in
Every nuance, feeling, fact,
you instantly begin
to understand; and nature’s path,
the purpose of the rain:
To gradually rejoin the oceans
lakes and streams again
A tender telepathic voice
is heard inside your head:
“You can’t stay here this time, no,
go back you must instead.”
Resistance strong, “I won’t return!”
To shout this is your goal --
But “feeling” here in Heaven
is the language of the soul
So quietly, obey you must,

  80
 

and following ahead

the Spirit guide, you’re startled then
to be back in your bed
Your soul unites with body
and confused as you may seem
no one can convince you that
you simply had a dream
The Spirit world is real and you
were there in heart and soul
To live a life of servitude
is now your newfound goal
Listen to the guidance of
the visions when you dream
and all the knowledge peace and love
from inside you will glean.

May 15, 1998

  81
 

Through Another Door _____________________

P
atterns of vibration churning
on the wave of life
Resonating in a sea
of joyfulness and strife
Yin and yang, opposing forces
joining to make one
Stars and planets, earth and sky,
as well as moon and sun
The one-dimension model called
the photogenic field
by process known as Morphic Resonance
is then revealed
Energizing particles cause
patterns to exist
Intuitive perception is
the help we must enlist
There is a fourth dimension here
beyond the earthly senses
Organic forms of ESP
become the human lenses
We’re no longer separate from
the body of the world
At sub-atomic levels
this perception is unfurled
Positive and negative,
the oscillating force,
all creative energy
resulting from this source

  82
 

Quantum physics, paranormal

happenings and more
propels the body, mind and spirit
through another door
The scientific model that
is rational in nature
disintegrates outside the realm
of earthly nomenclature
The layers of these psychic happenings
we can’t explain
A mystery for present generations
to remain.

May 17, 1998

  83
 

Nature’s Call ___________________________

S
ub-atomic particles
spinning round and round
swiveling on an axis that
is vertical, they’ve found
Sometimes come they do in pairs
as creatures on the arc
in opposite directions rotate
even in the dark
Einstein then proposed to try
to separate these particles
A few years later came success
and from this many articles
It appeared that when this little
goal had been attained
even at great distances
the spin-link was maintained
In conclusion, sub-atomic
particles they seem
to have a sort of ESP –
communication clean
Most physicists have chosen
to reject this point of view
and those who do believe in mysticism,
they are few
Quantum physics does support
the nature of reality
The thought of “oneness” follows
the Perennial philosophy

  84
 

“I am that, you are that,

this is that, that’s all there is”
A phrase the ancient seers did
exclaim, it was their business
to debunk the narrow view
of science as it was
to offer a new model of
the world, and so it does
Keep an open mind and soon
the universal secrets will
reveal themselves through natural laws
and knowledge soon will fill
our mind and heart and Soul and Spirit
Understanding all –
is the atmospheric goal:
fulfilling Nature’s call.

May 17, 1998

  85
 

The Heart and Soul Alliance _____________

I
ntuitive perception is the key
to finding all the answers flowing free
Just quiet down your breath and slow your
mind
and inner peace from inside you will find
A form of ESP is intuition
and practiced daily blossoms to fruition
Involuntary as the silent breath
illusory as what we label “Death”
Our inner knowledge lurks beneath the
surface
ready to be accessed, this, its purpose
Anytime we want and need this guidance
we tune into the Heart and Soul Alliance
A channel we attune to like a wave
and in our memory these patterns save
for future recollection when we need
to nurture sproutings of the tiny seed
An exercise, a muscle to be flexed
removing things that keep ourselves
perplexed
Our Higher Selves will channel all the answers
like a charmed ballet of tiny dancers
The little children knowing each their part
through hours of rehearsing now, by heart
swirl around the stage so free of fear
while parents in the audience do cheer
Encouraging their little ones to shine

  86
 

like golden nuggets deep within a mine

Emitting both a glitter and a light
that’s blinding to the mortal human sight
We all have spirits each within our heart
but effort make we must to learn our part
Tune into that silent little voice
Enjoy the gifts of both free will and choice
All the answers are contained within
A life of intuition will begin
to manifest itself throughout your soul
Communing with divinity, our goal.

May 19, 1998

  87
 

Language of the Soul _______________________

A
dream is but a doorway to the Soul
A panoramic view it gives us whole
The bigger picture causes us to see,
decipher and interpret though must we
the universal symbols often cryptic
Perspective may at times appear elliptic
But guidance we must glean from even those
confusing dreams and understanding grows
Encapsulating all events throughout
the day observing what it’s all about
giving insight as to what to do
like building model ships from sticks and glue
Each small image has a certain function
and when placed together gently in
conjunction
an image forms, a shape we can discern
A parable from which we then can learn
Attention pay to each nocturnal symbol
like sewing with a needle, thread and thimble
Pushing through the leather tough with ease
An effort but the Spirit it does please
Dream interpretation is an art
All one has to do is simply start
recalling dreams and quickly write them
down
With just a bit of practice you’ll have found
that dreams are but the language of the Soul
and Spirit, Mind and Body as a whole

  88
 

integrate together in the night

and things that once were wrong
may now seem right
Cryptic as it may so often seem,
listen closely to your every dream
Knowledge strong and guidance from inside
by this wisdom if we so abide
Answers to the questions of the Heart
will soon be known, and then we’ll really start
remaining on our path, we’ll travel far
and live as though an Oscar-winning star

May 21, 1998

  89
 

  90
 

PART 3:
In Cosmic Eternity

  91
 

I Am _____________________________________

I
am the emptiness of a clear watery stream
and the light that shines from the starlit
night
I am the ocean of truth that permeates
universal consciousness
and the beauty of the Tahitian black pearl
I am the dance that fluctuates amid the silent
spaces between thoughts and the myth
existing
on the plane of effervescence
I am the totality of cosmic existence
and the pebble that snuggles between the
crevices
of a Bahamian cove
I am the moon that reigns freely over
an earthly glowing-ness
and the moment that cuddles into the warm,
erotic embrace of two naked souls entwined
I am...
July 10, 1998

  92
 

Relief _____________________________________

R elief, an unleashing of steam

in a pressure-filled vessel
Beads of sweat dripping,
trickling gently down the trajectory
of the forehead, cheekbone, jaw
An exhalation, a folding inward
of shoulders, upper back,
collapsing, into a narrow stream
of sand carousing down an hourglass,
grain by grain
The chest expands like a helium balloon,
drinking in its life-force
from the canister of the Mother-Ship
A lightness fills the heart, the trachea,
the mouth and head
A tingling sensation caresses each pore,
beginning in the center of the navel,
expanding with an outward centrifugal force
eventually encircling the entire Soul we call “I”
And once again, relaxation replaces
anxiety and the Spirit-eye closes
Contentedness bellows its open sails
as I float through the warm Caribbean cove,
happy, once again.

July 13, 1998

  93
 

Is This Heaven? ___________________________

C ontent
Serene
Honey-glazed
Plum-sunburned
I throb with the ecstasy of relaxation
The flesh, a pink-peach Rosetta
Some parts more caramel-flavored than
others
Stream-lined body rests on back, knees up
Chest heavy with drunken contentedness
Eyes flutter upwards at no target in particular
Inebriated with the Caribbean mystical,
magical spell woven so subtly – like hand-spun
gold
Delicate, shimmering, pulsating,
Star-like fireworks expanding senselessly,
Mercilessly, inside every physical fiber
Lying still, no words to explain
the universal oneness into
which I have melded so flawlessly
Is this heaven?
July 15, 1998

  94
 

Confusion _____________________________

A
strong undertow keeps tugging
at my floating thoughts,
drawing underneath the thick waves
the clarity I cling to for buoyancy
But there is no need for this
A shift in consciousness and direction
leads me back to the path
on which I enjoy transversing the most
By letting go for even a moment,
the tide pulls me, gently, deceptively
away from my desired course,
like my body on the canary-yellow float
drifting sneakily sideways
toward the parameter of the swimming area,
defined by buoyed rope
If I close my eyes and cease to paddle,
I find myself caught by the edge
and I must double my strength
to return to the center of the encircled arena
So as my thoughts,
if I do not consistently remind myself
of my true course:
self expression and realization
through music, words, and physical sensations
I am not responsible for doing – only being
I am not required to scheme and organize
and try –

  95
 

only exist
The map to the underwater treasure-trove
is to simply become
Confusion fades gently into clarity,
like a spin cycle coming to a gradual end
Blurry, then slow, soft, dry, complete,
warm and ready to be folded
into a semblance of order
July 16, 1998

  96
 

I Remember ____________________________

I
remember a time when things
were as simple as a single pedaled
blossom,
like a white peach, a fleshy textured pulp
succulent, tender, hovering mid-air
like a planetary globe
A suspended, weightless intelligence,
bloated with sugar-water,
plum-ripe for plucking, garnering sustenance
from the tiny stem by which its life-force
is hydraulically infused
A tender globule of dew trickes down
the edge of the fuzzy, apple-shaped semi-
sphere, glistening, pulsating
with enzymatic magnetism
I remember when I felt only sweetness,
the pungent, aromatic sine-wave
wafting through every porous gland,
inebriating the cellular structure to
a state of peaceful, blissful, oblivion
I remember...
July 18, 1998

  97
 

First Morning Awareness ____________________

A
feeling of disjointedness, freefall,
and as I reach up to grab
the rope releasing my parachute,
the jarring jolt of safety
envelopes my being
A heat wave descends
like a hot, wool blanket,
suffocating, reprimanding, oppressive,
scalded, viscerally vulnerable,
parental, disconcerting, accusatory
Fragile, like the gossamer wings
of an angel, ethereal, sugar-spun,
shimmering, shining with moon-opal glow
So delicate, the breath of an exhalation
severs instantly
the network of interwoven fibers
of the alpha dream-state
Sensory defenselessness,
like a tiny army of robots prepared
to spring into action against
an impenetrable enemy
Complete and utter resolution,
tension exonerated
A wave of calm serenity
washes over the goose down duvet,
gently bathing the hot, stickiness
in cool, clinging, tepid moisture
Breathing is slow and deep

  98
 

Well-being is now a thick, thatched umbrella

under which I languish
on the cool, evening-covered beach,
a salty breeze kisses my skin
as every fiber tingles
with the sensation of surrender
Happiness, a rare, precious, valuable,
priceless stone, sparkling urgently,
unabashedly,
radiating from its tiny core
An intensity only matched
by the sheer and utter omnipotence of the
sun-star
It’s glare, a throbbing, pulsating fire-ball,
emanating a billion tentacles outward
magnetizing everything into its wake
with octopus-like ferocity,
crushing all those resistant
to withstanding its slow, absolute embrace
I am awake now.

July 19, 1998

  99
 

Reunited ___________________________________

O ther than worldly Spirit-beings

systematically surround the lightness
that universally encompasses
the Souls from whence we were once
encased, Manifesting into physical,
vibrational frequencies,
slowing down over a period of many millennia
to a point of inaudible, sludge-like, primordial
guttural utterances,
like a llama trudging laboredly
through a chocolate pond
Like an old, 78 LP phonograph
reduced in speed to a slow, grinding halt,
Low, auditory eminences, ground-like,
submerged below sea-level,
as is a sensory audiophile
stored in the microchip of coded DNA,
stranded together lifetime upon lifetime,
eternity in its omniscient, magnificent
splendor,
revealing the interwoven, hand-spun fibers
that entwine what is known as universal
oneness,
stretching, craning its infinite neck
toward the blessed heavens,
the barrier that defines our two worlds,
where once upon a time we transversed
between,

  100
 

easily and effortlessly, morphing, than

manifesting, astral traveling instantaneously –
the vestibular system throbbing in full force,
pulsating at a dizzying speed with
isomorphic resonance in the photogenic field
Imagine the spin-link of a pair of molecules
pulled apart like magnets, urgently
determined
to clutch the other,
with no intention of separation,
(much less entertaining the remote
possibility and then...)
A force congruently greater than
conceivable reality pries the two apart, limb
from limb,
like twins separated at birth,
a pain so profound the feelings become
embedded
in each and every molecular holographic
model
Yet ho, spinning in polarized directions
in exact synchronization
worlds apart,
nothing can sever the emotional,
metaphysical
inter-connectedness that once created
the union of these two disembodied spirits
One on earth, and one on the Other Side –

  101
 

not in a Heavenly plane somewhere far

away,
yet simply in another dimension,
parallel to ours, close by,
like a mirrored glass,
enabling the higher frequency
to access our system of kinesthetic, auditory
and visual building blocks
homogenized with the language of Peace
Until one day those left behind on earth
will once again resume our bi-linguability
to be reunited with our soul-family –
together forevermore...
August 27, 1998

  102
 

Once Again ________________________________

A
flavorful, opulent, overwhelming
pungent aura of wafting, cloud-like
vapors
permeate the membrane of living,
cell-sized permutations,
invasive, perfunctory, boundary-less,
shameless, responding definitively with a
negation,
a wall with absolute knowingness
of Self and limitation
A silent sheen, a shield, a sheath, a glare,
a mask, a membrane protects the new,
delicately budding pedals of soft, flesh-like,
easily-perforated newly formed tissue
A small dome-like layer of gauzy,
quasi-solid invisible matter
hovers over, forming an electromagnetic field
that repels even the slightest intrusion,
an unwanted particle
bounces off its reflection
like water globules sliding off
the oil-covered feathers of a swan,
forever dry, untainted, yet permissible,
malleable, allowing and flexible when
required
Vibrations resonate throughout the cell vessel
at molecular levels
penetrating the nerve endings

  103
 

causing a tingling sensation

to emanate throughout the outer protective
shell
Confusion then seeps into the calm, lake-like
pool
the mind has so laboriously settled into,
disrupting the wave-like pattern
of hypnotic solitude.
A test, a murmur, a pulse, a blip in
the EKG-screen of life,
causes calm to be pummeled with unrest
Alternatively, a less than natural state
that upsets the existing levels of oneness
and emotional tranquility
But, it, matched with consciousness
not a chance...
The trained sub and super levels
of whole-brain functioning
now unlock the secrets of psychological
chicanery
that so desperately tries to unseat
the calm, rational, God-like scientific methods
of Hong-Sau,
and work together to squelch the turbulence
of the lower cave-like levels
of vibratory out-of-sync
structural microscopic components,
locking them together,
easing them into gear-like comfort ability,
once again... October 9, 1998

  104
 

In Cosmic Eternity _________________________

E
arth and sky
A oneness traversing with languid fluidity
The Souls that are we become
like an ocean of spreadable, putty-like finger
paint
An infinite, insoluble palate of colors, shapes,
sizes
Eons upon eons of time existing
in which to develop
the innermost skills indigenous to our birthright,
honing in on our true and boundless selves
The common consciousness,
the primordial sea of love
that binds us all as one
Heart to heart, solar plexus to solar plexus,
spiritual eye to spiritual eye
Behold the beauty,
the blinding, gold-shimmering, jewel-
encrusted
crowning glory of each tiny Spirit
indwelling, morphing among those
microscopic
spaces between our thoughts
Languishing as if knowing
the soul need not a destination,
but rather a being-ness
An acceptance –

  105
 

a respite to gather all the pearls and

diamonds
of love and wisdom combined,
and then dispersing them lovingly
Only to be scattered across the Heavens
and collected again,
each morsel – grain by grain,
cherished and ingested as nourishment
Like negative ionic particles dissipated invisibly
and noiselessly into the atmosphere,
allowing the peace and tranquility we each
posses
to blossom and flourish boundlessly,
eternally,
alluringly,
in cosmic eternity...

January 1, 1999

  106
 

Solitude ___________________________________

S
olitude
An internal dialogue
whispering elegant utterances
Smooth, alliterative, entangled,
auditory, symphonic interwoven fabrics
of milky white, violet,
honey-sunflowers
Like hot wax, chewy, warm, thick, enveloping,
oozing through a tube of silken, silver tubing
coagulating in a circular spiral
An interplanetary, Pythagorean pattern,
smiling like the Cheshire cat
A secret delight, a forbidden pleasure
indulged, illuminated by the pale, egg-yellow
shadow of a waning moon
A shimmering sheen,
blanketing the moist, humid, tepid rainforest
of cool, Caribbean-clear opal pools,
diamond-encrusted
with amber-emerald sapphire ringlets,
swirling in an edy of a singular,
lonely system of stars
floating solo, suspended, gel-like,
by the impossible infinity
of atmospheric sky
Solitude

March 23, 1999

  107
 

Into the Light _____________________________

G olden light, enveloping, glowing, auric

light,
a large bubble-gum blue,
an arc-like rainbow encircling, embracing,
surrounding
A healing is taking place
in the most loving of hues
Powdered aqua, the softest of eggplant,
white-green foggy wisps hover slowly,
silently overhead purifying and inviting
Inwardly we breathe the clear, healing vapors
Every pore, every vein,
every cell fills joyously
with a peacefulness
that can only be described as divine
We must only be silent to feel the love
that wants so desperately to be ours
Breath is the silver cord,
the delicate, invisible, inextricable link
connecting us to the Spirit World
Simply and gently open our heart-ears and
listen
There is no answer
that our Soul can not provide.
Be still and the vessel of our Spirit
will expand with harmonious orchestration
Strings, woodwinds, muted brass loveliness,

  108
 

entwined and loom-woven by a heavenly

conductor,
divinely in tune at an A 440
that can only be imagined
by the most crystalline of Spirit-ears
Pillowed melodies wafting by
on a violet, crimson-magenta carpet,
accompanied by the unwavering certainty
that we are protected, loved,
watched and waited for
The daisies crane their delicate, innocent,
budding, shining, freshness-filled faces
toward the Heavens –
waiting their turn to be plucked,
nurtured
and brought forth into the light,
and instantaneously,
throughout eons of time,
all is healed.

May 20, 1999

  109
 

The Secret Key _____________________________

S
implicity, fortitude, honesty, self-
knowledge, acceptance, expression,
eccentricity, a cyclical eternity
woven into tiny bits of universal patchwork,
square upon square
A quilt so vast, but easily understood,
an explainable phenomenon
yet an enigma,
Our memories blocked,
though those on the Other Side,
their veils removed,
try (often frustratedly) to help us remember,
often with pity and tears of compassion
and often with pride and thankfulness
when a Soul quiets his heart
just enough
to interpret the impressed implanted thought
A tiny sign, a single feather –
a piece of the puzzle
The blueprint, as complex
as the neuronic pattern of a human brain,
but the highway, straight as an arrow,
the path, one´s theme,
a sunken trench, difficult to derail
Cease the struggle,
for the secret key to graduation
is simply survival…
May 23rd, 1999

  110
 

Home _____________________________________

H
ome is nothing more
than the center of the heart
A place that only the solitude,
serenity, peacefulness
of a slow and quite mind can access
One dream, one reality, two sides of a mirror:
we the dream,
the anti-matter,
the veiled entities,
a self-inflicted condition
for the purpose
of forwarding our Souls’ enlightenment,
a little journey to stretch the muscle...
The barometer to measure
our accuracy on the path
is happiness
Be still as a drop of water
on a moonlit pond
Be inside the single pedal of a rose,
plump, magenta,
oozing with the ripeness of a blood-red paint,
fresh from the tube
squeezed out
with a mouth-watering succulence
Home can be accessed –
just close the eyes and breathe
Imagine
collect the memories and spin them free

  111
 

into a web of dandelion fuzz

blown into the atmosphere
Harness the wind and fly forward –
carry your Soul
on the wings of a light breeze
where there is no limitation
With the knowledge that we are all eternal
Souls
comes freedom
With freedom comes peace
With peace comes happiness,
the true purpose and secret destination,
the final frontier
A place yet not a place,
an island but yet a mountain
the sea yet the air,
the earth yet the sky
the galaxy and yet the universe...
Swirling together
into one, giant, cotton candy puff,
all encircled
in the energy force we call love
Each planet,
each system containing
its own “Other Side” –
its own parallel,
super-imposed ultra-reality
An eternal resting ground
to regain our strength,

  112
 

ponder the knowledge

and enjoy the near-perfect imaginings
of our eventual eternal surroundings
that each and every Soul
revolves in and out of
throughout eons of time  
 
June 1, 1999

  113
 

Because _________________________________ 

B
ecause the world is a watery stream
I vacate the earth
and float among the clouds
Because the pearls of wisdom
permeate my every waking cell,
the cascading waterfall
(that is the essence of my inner being)
shines with the opal glow
of sand-sun warmth
Because there are always questions
unanswered
the astral being
will continue their nightly search
among dreams and stars
Because there is always love
we are never alone

August 7th, 1999

  114
 

One Last Time _____________________________

S
mall, intelligent forces,
displaying circular, silent concentric pools
of shimmering elegant droplets
radiating outward
Magnetized toward the ozone layer
coating the thin, existent,
transparent film,
opalescent, sheer –
bonding to itself to fortify and energize
infuse with nutrients
creating stability – stamina
Bonding together, two filmy gauzy layers
upon contact becoming a strong, perfect,
glistening tarp of sorts
A golden force-field –
not a barrier yet a protective shell –
penetrable yet sheltering
Sending love signals to those above
as well as those of us still below
A center of sorts
a place of processing
A shielding dome where energies
from above and below
meet in harmony
Where for a brief,
(yet not too brief) period
the two worlds can converge
with little effort

  115
 

Where before, akin

to meeting twelve feet
below the surface of the ocean
(done unhaltingly and without complaint)
but now, effortlessly
(and with oxygen!)
Food, water, light and perception
A center where translation, speech,
visualization
and feelings
no longer need interpretation!
A space,
a thin plane of love –
a breakthrough of spiritual and scientific
anomaly
A meeting place –
a haven of peace
A gift of God so those of us can meet again,
one last time –
before our ultimate reunion
among the stars

April 25th, 2001

  116
 

About the Author __________________________

 
 
 
Author of The Daughter-in-Law Rules, Sally Shields is also
an award-winning pianist, composer, and speaker. She
performs worldwide, most lately with bestselling author
and musician James McBride (The Color Of Water). Her
children’s song, “It’s Christmastime, Once Again” was a
finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and her
music is currently being featured on the ABC TV soap
opera “All My Children.” Her poem, “A Pond Beneath
the Moon” (from her self-published book of the same
title) has garnered a prestigious Editor’s Choice Award
from the International Library of Poetry. Her articles and
transcriptions are published regularly in Piano Today
Magazine, and her book, Modern Jazz Piano is
currently the standard theory manual at Princeton
University. She lives in New York City with her husband
and their two children.

  117
 

Also Available from Sally Shields

o A full-length mp3 download of Sally’s deliciously delightful

“Moon Melodies” –-an hour’s worth of soothing solo piano
lullabies–-assuredly to lull your infant to absolute repose!

“This is a wonderful project with musical heart and soul, having a

strong, sincere, universally clear concept with personal artistic
integrity. These 17 individual ballads, modeled after Bach's Well-
Tempered Clavier provide an hours' worth of pure peacefulness as
well as a lifetime of musical pleasure.”
Bob Karcy
president, Arkadia Records

o An mp3 of Sally’s original full- length 60 minute CD “Cruisin’!”

as heard on ABC TV’s “ALL MY CHILDREN!”

“Sally Shields caresses the piano with sensitivity and love, and the
colors she uses demonstrate her gift and vision.”
McCoy Tyner
four time Grammy winner

o An mp3 download of Sally’s full-length 60 minute CD, “Yes,

Indeed!” including the original hit song, “Stay the Same” as
performed by vocalist Carolyn Leonhardt (background
singer for Steely Dan)!

“In her music, Sally Shields creates a rich aural tapestry. Her
compositions and playing are evocative—much like compelling
prose, resulting in beauty and soul.”
Andy Laverne
editor, New York Times Magazine

o The Daughter-in-Law Rules: 101 Surefire Ways to Manage

(and Make Friends with) Your Mother-in-Law!

"Next to Waterford Crystal, The Daughter-in-Law Rules may be the

best wedding gift you can give!"
Tim Bete
author, Guide to Pirate Parenting

  118
 

As well: ____________________________

o Private Consultations
o Speaking Engagements
o The DIL Rules Gift Certificates
o The Daughter-in-Law Rules E-book
o The Daughter-in-Law Rules Newsletter
o The Daughter-in-Law Rules 101 Workshop
o Piano Performances available upon request

Every bit of Sally’s philosophy is designed to make a profound and

positive improvement in your life, intensify your level of happiness and
help you live far more peacefully with your husband and MIL!

Please visit Sally on the web at www.TheDILRules.com for contests,

giveaways, free bonus gifts, The DIL Rules newsletter, the 44 Top Tips
Cheat Sheet, free music …and more!

Note: 15% of the proceeds of this book will go to the charity “Much
Love”–-a non-profit, no-kill organization dedicated to reducing
overpopulation, abuse and neglect of domestic animals. Much Love
is run entirely by like-minded professionals who volunteer their time
and resources to help save the lives of these animals. Celebrity
supporters include: Charlize Theron, Drew Barrymore, Janeanne
Garofalo, Jessica Beil, Johnny Depp, Kevin Nealon, Tea Leoni and Tori
Spelling. For more info, please visit: MuchLove.org.

  119